Watson kino



W. KING.

RAILWAY TRACK GLEARER.

Patented May 7, 1867.

Quint giants gaunt @ffirn'.

Letters Patent No. 64,541, dated May 7, 1867.

IMPROVED RAILWAY-TRACK GLEARER.

Bilge sauna mm to in ilgtsti'eittrs finial nut making part of tip 5mm.

TO ALL'WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

' Be it known that I, WATSON KING, of Springfield, in the county of Sangamon, and State of Illinois, have f 'invented a new and improved Trsck-Cleurer fo'r Railroad Cars and Locomotives; and I do hereby declare the.

, the following is a fuihcloar, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to mak use the same, reference being had to th;e aceompanyingfdrawitrgs, forming part of thisspecifioation, in which- Figure 1 is a side View of a platform car te which my improvements have-been attached.

Figure 2 is an under side view of the some.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, taken through the line 1: x, fig. 2-

Simil letters of reference indieatelike parts-.

My invention has for its object to so improve the coli'strnction of cars for running upon horse and other ratiiroads that he cars may clear'and clean the track for themselves by removing obstructions, and thcrebypreserving life by rendering it impossible for any one who may have accidentally fallen upon the track to be run 'over by the wheels of thc'cai'; and it consists iii-a shield placed around the forward and lower part of the wheels to remove obstructions from the track; in placing a small wheel beneath and within the shield to support its forward end; in attaching astcel point to the forward :end of thejlower edge of a the shield to prevent the end of the shield from striking the ends of the fails; in the combination of a brake-iron or shoe with the shield; in operating the brake by an eccentric placed upon the axle of the car; inthe combination and arrangement of bars, rods, and chains for operating the-brakes, and in connecting each'pnir of shields by means of a cross-bar so as to keep them in proper relative position with each other and with the'track.

A represents the body or platform; B the wheels, and G the axles of the car, about the coiistruction ofv which parts there is nothing new. Dare the shields, which are made with aheav'y curved forward edge, as shown in the drawings, and with side-plates d and-doverlapping'the sides of the wheels. The inner side-plate d is madelonger than the outer one so that it may ride upon the axle G, as shown in figs. Z'and 3. The forward'par'tvof the shields D are supported by small wheels E, the journals of which revolve in bearings formed iugor attached to the side-plates of the shields D; The wheels E may be made with or without flanges, as may be desired. F is a steel point attached to the forward end of the bottom of the shield D, and curved upward, as shown in figs. I and 3, for the purpose of preventing the end of the shield from striking-against the ends of" the rails. The said point also cuts into and breaks up any ice that'may have-formed upon the shit]. rails. G are the brake-shoes or rubbers which are pivoted between the plates d and cl of the shield D. H are eccentrics riding upon-the axles O, and which are so connected with the inner side-plates d of the. shields D that by turning them the shields D and shoes G will be drawn back so that the said shoes will be made to hug the rim of the wheels 13, and thus stop their revolution. 7 I are rods, one end of which'is attached to the lower edges of the eccentrics H, and their other ends are attached to theends of the cross-bar J, as shown in fig. 2. To the middle part of the cross-bar J are attached vtwo chains, K, which pass over a friction-roller, L, attached to the under side of the bottom A of the car; thence the chains pass to each end of the car, and are attached to the lower end of the vertical shafts M, which pass up through the platforms of the car and have handwheels N attached totheir upper ,ends. By turning the shaft M the chains K are wound up, thereby raising the cross-bar J 'and operating the eccentrics H to apply the brakes. Each pair of shields D are connected by a cross-bar, O, which keeps them in a line with the rails and with each other. 'Io the middle part of the bars O are attached chains I, that pass up through the platforms of the car, so that by drawing upon these chains the projcctiiig ends of the shields may be raised from the track and held bypassing a link of the said chains over a. hook or pin. R are side-plates hung from the ends of the axles to prevent anything from falling between the wheels of the our. S are steel'springs attached to the under side of the forward end of the shields D, just in front of the small wheels E, to reinovedust, dirt, ice, or snow from the top of the rails. If desired the springs S may be omitted, and the stcelsprings T attached to the bottom of the car in siich a position that their lower ends may be close to the top of the rail, just in front of the shield D so as to remove dirt, dust, ice, or snow from the said rails.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by LcttersPatcnt, is-

1. Operating the shields D and brake-shoes Gby means of the eccentrics H, upon the shafts G, substantially as herein shown and described for the purpose-spccified' v 2. In combination with the parts of the abovc'I claim tho rods I, cross-bard, chains P, friction-roller L,

cross-bar O, and spriugs S '1, as herein set forth for the purpose specified.

, WATSON KING.

Witnesses:

Enema L.-Guoss, JmissL. Asians. 

